Product description

Details

Maya Blue, developed by the Maya who ruled Mesoamerica from about 290 to 900 C.E., is a remarkable pigment based on a blue dye precipitated onto clay. The blue is perhaps the most striking color used by Maya artists, a color so extraordinary that it generated much research and debate among scientists for more than 50 years. What is particularly interesting about Maya Blue is that, despite long exposure to light and high humidity for centuries, it hardly fades. Its unprecedented stability, defies exposure to alkalies, acids and chemical solvents. Maya Blue is a mixture of both inorganic (paylgorskite clay) and organic (blue dye) elements -- no known organic pigments today can come close to the stability of Maya Blue over so many years.

Rublev Colours Aqueous Dispersions are pigments dispersed in water ready to be mixed with water-based mediums. These dispersions are especially made for use with traditional painting mediums, such as egg tempera, casein tempera, fresco, watercolors and distemper (glue tempera). They are also ideally suited for use with gesso to make toned grounds for drawing and painting. Pigment dispersions from Rublev Colours contain only naturally-derived ingredients, in addition to pigment and water, making them ideally suited for traditional mediums. Unlike other pigment dispersions that are typically made for acrylic medium, Rublev Colours Aqueous Dispersions do not contain coalescent solvents, artificial dispersing resins and other additives that interfere with natural mediums. Aqueous Dispersions make preparing traditional mediums easy; you do not have to hassle with powders, grinding pigments in medium and calculating binder ratios to make water-based paint. They make adding the right amount of paint binder, such as egg yolk, a no brainer because the right amount of water is already contained in the dispersion, simply add egg yolk.

Origin and HistoryMaya Blue was developed by the Maya occupying Mesoamerica for the first millennium C.E. Today, a U.S. company has unlocked the secrets of Maya Blue and patented the process to create hybrid organic/inorganic pigments based on research to find the origin of the blue color.

SourceOur Maya Blue is made by Mayan Pigments, and is based on the process they developed that recreates the Maya blue pigment found in Mesoamerican artifacts and archaelogical sites. The process involves heat-treating synthetic indigo dye with palygorskite (also known as attaplugite) clay.

Permanence and CompatibilityMaya Blue is stable in acids, alkalis, and solvents, so it is suitable for almost all artists' mediums, including fresco and casein.

Oil Absorption and GrindingMaya Blue absorbs a moderately high amount of oil (65 grams of linseed oil per 100 grams of pigment) to make a paste.

ToxicityMaya Blue is not considered toxic, however, care should be used in handling the dry powder pigment to avoid inhaling the dust.

Rublev Colours Pigment: Maya Blue

Pigment Information

Color:

Blue

Colour Index:

Pigment Blue 82

Chemical Name:

Organic dye precipitated on clay

Chemical Formula:

Not applicable

ASTM Lightfastness Rating

Acrylic:

Not rated

Oil:

Not rated

Watercolor:

Not rated

Properties

Specific Gravity:

2.0

Particle Size, Average:

2 microns

Particle Shape:

Needle

Refractive Index:

1.56-1.662

Oil Absorption:

65 g oil/100 g pigment

Natural Pigments

Natural Pigments is a limited liability company based in Willits, California. We manufacture and distribute rare and hard-to-find materials for fine artists and decorators. We specialize in supplying artists' materials that were used in historical painting since pre-historic times up to and including the nineteenth century.

We constantly search for materials and products of the finest quality so that we can bring them direct to you from the source. To do so, we travel the world to find materials specifically for use by professional artists and decorators. We obtain minerals from mines in Afghanistan, Chile, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, to name a few places, processing these into natural pigments. We purchase resins, gums and plants from India, Kenya and Malaysia to make natural varnishes and painting mediums.

Our mission is to provide the largest variety of natural pigments, paints and other professional artists' supplies, enabling us to bring you a selection that makes shopping for rare and hard-to-find art materials easy. Our objective is to promote the education and use of these materials among artists by providing detailed information for their employment in encaustic, fresco, oil, watercolor and tempera painting.
All Natural Pigments products

Product weight:

0.12 lbs

This product is shipped from our warehouse in Gretna, NE, USA.

This product is brand new and includes the manufacturer's warranty, so you can buy with confidence.

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